1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally is a means for intercepting and destroying intercontinental, cruise and shorter range missiles.
2. Description of the Related Art
A great danger to America from an enemy nation is the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). If these missiles carry nuclear warheads, and are able to penetrate our defense system, they can destroy city after city with but little effort on the enemies' part. These missiles are very effective and efficient. They are ballistic in that they are guided and propelled during the initial phase of the flight, and follow a free-falling ballistic trajectory towards the target under the influence of gravity the remainder of the distance. Initially, they are propelled high above the atmosphere by rockets and may divide into many separate warheads that are freely moving missiles on their own and that are destined for different targets.
Our present system for protecting this nation during an enemy ICBM missile attack is based on the ability of our anti-ballistic missiles to be launched from their silos, to rise high above the earth, to go far out to sea, and hit the incoming ICBM missile, head on. The enemy missile might be spotted 5,000 miles away and moving at 15,000 mph, and our anti-missile rocket is set on a trajectory that is calculated to intercept it.
If the two trajectories exactly match, the missiles collide, or if the trajectories cross and the two missiles reach the point of intersection at the same time, they collide. Yet, the missiles may have a difference in speed of 30,000 mph, and thus the slightest error in the trajectory or the timing can cause the missiles to miss colliding by a number of miles.
Because of this, our ballistic missile defense (BMD) is based on a system having several independent layers, giving us the opportunity to destroy the missiles at multiple points on the trajectory. Our defense starts off early in the trajectory when high-energy lasers, directed from satellites, are used to destroy the enemy boosters. Thereafter, the anti-ballistic missiles try to pick off the incoming ICBM's and our anti-satellite missiles protect the satellites from the ground missiles. If a large number of missiles have been launched, some enemy missiles will get through the first layers. They are still vulnerable to our late launched anti-ballistic missiles clear down to the time they reach the reentry stage. Even if missed more than once, additional opportunities are provided to take out the enemy missiles with each succeeding layer. The system works, but it has problems and requires a large number of anti-ballistic missiles to be on ready.
The greatest problem with the front interceptor system is the great difference in relative speed between the interceptor and the missile. This difference in speed is astronomically high. If the ICBM is moving at 15,000 mph and the interceptor is moving at 15,000 mph, the difference in speed can be as high as 30,000 mph. In just one second, the missiles move 4.6 miles closer to, or further away from, each other, as the case might be, and the slightest deviation in direction or speed of the interceptor becomes highly magnified. At the last second, correction is impossible. This has been likened to trying to hit a bullet with a bullet, and it is to the engineers' credit that they can intercept any of these missiles by this method.
It is the intent of the present invention that the problem of “hitting a bullet with a bullet” is eliminated, and that our future anti-ballistic missiles will not only kill its intended missile, but that it will seek out and destroy other enemy missiles as well.